Maple Tree Cafe Post-Restaurant: Impossible

The Food Network checked in with rookie restaurant owner Ashley Robertson of Maple Tree Cafe following her appearance on Restaurant: Impossible. The episode aired last night.

Brawny host and chef Robert Irvine made Robertson fire her entire staff, mostly family members, and then rehire them back if she felt they were worthy of their jobs. "I have changed a lot of my ways of thinking since the show, and I realized that lack of pride and responsibility just can't be tolerated," she tells the Food Network. Since the show filmed in June, she has brought on new employees who are not family members.

Irvine had 48 hours to revamp the breakfast and lunch spot with a makeover of the dining room, the menu and the staff. He added some new items to the menu such as a better recipe for apple fritters and a Cuban sandwich, which Robertson says she's kept on the menu.

"Ashley reports that since Robert left, sales at The Maple Tree Cafe have more than doubled," the Food Network says.

The restaurant recently started selling boxed in-flight meals for an airline and now has two additional locations inside Lucky's Lounges.
· Restaurant Revisited: Maple Tree Cafe [Food Network]
· All Coverage of Maple Tree Cafe [~ELV~]
Maple Tree Cafe [Photo: Susan Stapleton]